The Fitch Ratings agency ratified the Dominican Republic’s risk rating at BB-, an assessment supported “by a track record of solid economic growth, a diversified export structure and favorable governance scores,” the Ministry of Finance reported on Wednesday.
The credit rating firm stressed that government subsidies to contain fuel, electricity, and food prices “have prevented a further increase in inflation this year,” according to a statement from the government entity.
Regarding debt, as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), he forecast that this will decrease to 47.1% this year and will remain stable around 48% going forward, below the average “BB”, which is around 54%.
Although he referred to the challenges that the country may face in 2023 due to tax levels, Fitch stressed that the country has “a considerable margin of cash, which offers greater flexibility to take advantage of financing markets strategically combined with an increase in availability in financing with multilaterals,” according to the note.
In the statement, Finance Minister José Manuel Vicente said that maintaining the rating in an adverse global economic scenario, after an improvement in the outlook last year, “is the product of the Government’s constant effort to maintain the balance of the fiscal accounts and the country’s growth.”
In the report, Fitch states that the country’s composite worldwide governance indicator (WGI) increased from the 37th to the 50th percentile in the decade leading up to 2021, one of the largest improvements of all countries rated by the firm, reflecting progress in efforts to strengthen institutionality.
Source:
El Dinero
